Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Inheritance Tact

2 Corinthians 12:14b

...for children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children.


Children grow up to leave the home, cleave to another, and have children of their own.  Children are tomorrow's parents.  Much of what my children pass on to their children will be inherited from me: possessions, wisdom, folly, virtue, vice, habit, tradition, etc...

It is not my chldren's duty to shape my life.  By God's grace, our children do contribute and shape us greatly as to our understanding of parenthood and love and sacrifice and santification.  However, this is as a result of us fulfilling our duties to them.  When we provide for, lay down our lives for, sacrifice for, and give what we have for them, we fufill our Biblical responsibility.  There is great joy and satisfaction in so doing as well as great difficulty and expense. 

I pray my children grow up to love me and desire earnestly to honor me as their dad.  But I pray I would always have the opportunity to provide for them and save up for them and that the order and direction of provision would always come from me and go to them.

Much of what I have has been given to me by my two dads.  My earthly father has given me much by way of provision.  My Heavenly Father has given me everything by way of grace through in Christ.

As much as God desires me to love Him in return and seek and desire ways to show love back to Him, the direction of provision is always top down.  He gives and I give back.  It always is initiated by Him.  He initiates; we respond.

It is mirrored in earthly parents and children.  My wife and I will make sure to pass on as much as we can to our children and hope that they find grace through faith in Christ to inherit everything.  My greatest joy would be to see my own children adopted out of my family and into God's through Jesus.

May it be always that we love because He first loved us, give because He first gave to us, share because He first shared with us, and provide because He first provided for us. 

It begins with the one who has and is given to another in need for whom that one takes responsibility.

My wife and I brought our chidren into this world and as such it begins with us and is aimed at them.  God has brought us as adopted children into His family by faith in Christ.  He sent His Son, sent His Spirit and now provides us with everything we need.  God neither gains nor receives from me anything that was not first His. 

Top-down.

I will inherit nothing from my children.
I will give everything as an inheritance to my children

God will inherit nothing from me.
God, in Christ, has given everything to us.

Inheritance works one way.

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